A salute to television's most underrated sitcom performersPopWire: News, Reviews and Commentary
by Neal Justin

Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (MCT)
16 March 2009

Rhys Darby stars in the HBO series "Flight of the Conchords." (HBO)

Rodney Dangerfield wasn’t the only comic to get no respect. Some of the finest work in sitcoms today is being turned in by people who don’t earn Emmy nominations, don’t grace magazine covers, don’t get multimillion-dollar movie deals - and provide the deepest laughs on the air.

Here are five performers who deserve some extra love. ...

... RHYS DARBY

The role: Murray, the eternally optimistic band manager of “Flight of the Conchords” (10 p.m. Sundays, HBO).

Where you’ve seen him before: “Yes Man” and, if you’re lucky, standup stages across New Zealand and Britain.

Why we love him: He’s a modern-day version of the Partridge Family’s Reuben Kincaid - except with two Dannys on his hands.

In his own words: As he told the Onion, “I thought, ‘People aren’t going to like my character, because he’s so different. If they’re really into these cool-looking idiots, they’re not going to like this other idiot who kind of gets in the way and is always uptight’ ... I guess because it’s the opposite side of the seesaw, it just fits in perfectly.”

Betcha didn’t know: He played Roger Federer’s coach in a Nike commercial. ...